


down by the pumpkin patch

by wishingwell44



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Cryptids, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Bucky Barnes Has Nightmares, Civil War Team Captain America, Dreams and Nightmares, F/F, F/M, Ghosts, Jewish Bucky Barnes, M/M, Making Out, Mermaids, Nightmares, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Pre-World War II Bucky Barnes, Pre-World War II Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, Spooktober, Swearing, Werewolf, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombies, ouiji board, romcom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2020-11-09 01:55:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20845619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wishingwell44/pseuds/wishingwell44
Summary: Ghosts, werewolves, and zombies, oh my!5 short stories for the Spooktober Challenge on Dreamwidth to get everyone in the mood for the spooky season.Chapter 1: A college!AU and an Ouija BoardChapter 2: Trick or Treating before the warChapter 3: A post-TWS!AU where Bucky tries to sleepChapter 4: A Cross-Cryptid RomanceChapter 5: A Zombie-fyed issue that the Avengers need to take care of.





	1. Part 1: Masks & Ouiji Boards

**Author's Note:**

> Part 1: Masks & Ouiji Boards
> 
> Sam, Natasha, Steve, and Bucky decide to have a little fun and play with an Ouiji board.

It was a dark and stormy night - or that is what Sam tried to make everyone pretend as he closed the curtains in his dorm. In reality, it was 7pm on a Saturday night, and the leaves had only begun to fall in early October. Classes were gearing up for midterms and the last thing anyone wanted to do was head to the bars to get plastered, only to walk to the library the next day, incredibly hungover.

As Natasha put it -  _ never again. _

So, the four of them - Sam, Natasha, Steve, and Bucky - convinced themselves to go to the local toy store and pick up something they can play with. With a waggle of his eyebrows, Sam lifted the box. 

“No, absolutely not,” Bucky said as soon as he saw what Sam was holding. 

“Why not?” Sam practically whined. “C’mon, it’s gonna be fun. It’s October! It’s a spooky season!”

“A spooky season?” Bucky questioned. “Are you five?”

“Fuck you, I’m twenty and Halloween is wonderful. Best holiday.”

“I’d like to counter and say Hanukkah.”

“We comparing holidays? I’d like to throw in New Years Eve,” Steve said as he walked up, and snaked a hand around Bucky’s waist. 

“Shocked to not hear July 4th.”

“My birthday?”

“Independence day, asshole,” some random person said as they walked by the group, and Natasha let out a bark of a laugh. 

“Is that a Ouija board? I used to play with those all the time. Freaked the fuck out of the neighborhood kids. Remember that?” Steve asked Bucky.

“Yeah, Timothy Douglass wet his pants in your basement.”

“Oh, I forgot about that part. Didn’t his mom give mine a call and it was just twenty minutes of her screaming?”

“Yeah, all because  _ you _ moved the piece to say ‘ _ yes’ _ .” 

“We weren’t getting any answers, so I just edged the game along.”

“Alright, enough story time - we doing this or not?” Sam asked.

“Whatever, it’s not real anyway. Let’s just get it, and get this night over with,” Natasha said as she popped her gum.

So that’s where they found themselves. Sam’s dorm at 7pm on a Saturday night. Sam flicked the light switch, and closed the blinds. He struck a match and lit a couple of candles before sitting down in the semi-circle. Natasha sat across from Sam, and Steve and Bucky sat next to each other. 

“Aren’t candles banned from dorm use?” Steve asked, as he adjusted himself on the floor. 

“It’s atmospheric...and banned. If an RA knocks we’ll just blow it out,” Sam said. “Easy as that.”

“If the fire alarm goes off, I’m the first out the door,” Bucky muttered as he saw the flame flicker. 

Sam put one finger on the planchette, and waited for someone to follow. Natasha sighed deeply and put one finger on as well.

“Does anyone else remember that vine,” Steve started to chuckle. “The one where they just start screaming because they moved the planchette.”

Sam cleared his throat loudly. “Alright, let’s be quiet for a minute to set the mood.” The only sounds they could hear were the slamming of doors outside of the room. In a soft tone, he started. “Hello, spirits. Is there anyone with us today?”

The room was quiet. More quiet than it was before. 

“Do you feel anything?” Natasha spoke a little quieter.

“Feels like the room is in a vacuum,” Bucky answered. “Anything on the planchette?”

“No,” Sam adjusted himself on the floor, “but it does  _ feel _ different in the room.”

“Ask another question. They seem to respond to you,” Natasha offered. 

“Okay,” Sam bit his lip. “Okay. Let’s try this again. Is there anyone with us today?” The hair on his arms stood up, feeling as though goosebumps appeared on his skin. The planchette started to move.

“Oh my God, do you feel that?” Natasha said. The planchette was against the board slowly but surely moving. It ended up at the word  **yes. ** Sam and Natasha both removed their hands from the item and almost in unison brought themselves away from the board. “What the  _ fuck _ ,” Natasha swore under her breath. 

“Now  _ that’s _ an adrenaline rush,” Sam muttered. “Again?” 

“No,” Natasha stood up. “No, that was too weird. I’m...I’m going to head back to my room, actually. I forgot my phone from when I dipped out.”

“C’mon. It’s just a game?” Bucky said.

“No, I don’t like the feel of this.” 

“Hey,” Steve stood up. “That’s okay. Right guys?” Steve raised his eyebrows, trying to make a point. 

“Okay, okay,” Sam back on his hands. “Maybe we can grab some pizza later?” 

“Pizza it is,” Natasha smiled, before opening the door letting the light stream in, and left. 

Steve sat down in front of the planchette. “Can I try?”

“Yeah, go ahead! Bucky? Do you want to take my spot?” Sam asked.

Bucky sighed and stood up. “Fine. I’ll try it out.” 

Bucky and Steve put one finger on the planchette. “Hello? Are there any spirits here?” Bucky asked and the planchette vibrated slightly. “Holy shit,” he whispered under his breath. 

“Wow,” Steve breathed. 

“Okay. Um,” Bucky searched for a question. “Is Steve hella gay for me?” He laughed, and forcibly moved the planchette towards the word  _ yes.  _

“Bucky, this isn’t a game,” Sam stated. 

“You mean to tell me you actually believe in this bullshit?”

“In fact, yes I do.”

“C’mon, Buck, let’s indulge ourselves,” Steve said as he placed the planchette in the middle of the board. “One finger each.” Bucky followed Steve. “Are there any spirits here with us tonight?”

The planchette vibrated until it started moving towards the word  _ yes _ . Bucky picked up the piece and placed it in the middle. “Were you human?” Bucky saw Sam’s face fall as soon as he asked the question. The planchette vibrated and moved to the word  _ yes  _ again. 

“What is you name?” Steve asked. It took some more energy, but the planchette this time truly seemed to move on it’s own. Both of their fingers were barely touching the piece, as the planchette moved from letter to letter. 

“M-A-R-G-A-R-E-T. Margaret,” Sam repeated. “Ring any bells?”

“No,” Bucky and Steve said at the same time. 

“When did you die?” Steve asked. The planchette moved. “1944.”

“Wait,” Bucky cleared his throat. “Didn’t someone die on campus? Above the cafeteria?”

“That girl who was murdered?”

“No that’s the story in the library.”

“Oh, wait, is that the story where they just found her body on the bed? Just  _ quote-end-quote _ ‘resting’?” 

The planchette moved without a finger on it.  _ Yes. _

“Holy  _ fuck! _ ” Bucky screamed and moved back from the board. “No, fuck this I’m out.”

“No wonder Timothy wet his pants in the basement,” Steve said, clutching his chest. 

Suddenly, the door opened. The three of them looked at the open door and saw someone standing there, hair in a braid, and something on their face. They screamed, the lights flicked on and it was just Natasha in a face mask. 

“Oh my  _ fucking God, _ ” Bucky screamed. 

“What?” Natasha leaned on the door. “Still playing?” 

“Not anymore,” Steve rested his hands over his face. “I think it’s time for pizza.” 

“Cool. Wanna come back to my dorm, so I can wash this gunk off my face?” 

Sam blew out the candles. “Anywhere but here.”

The three of them got up and left, leaving the board in the center of the floor. Keys in pockets and shoes on, they all left to Natasha’s dorm. The door closed, and the room was quiet. 

Quiet and still. 

The only sound that echoed through the dorm was the sound of a moving planchette.


	2. Part II: Sacrifices & Trick or Treating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before the war - before everything - Bucky and Steve went trick or treating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did an ounce of research but found that trick or treating was around in the late 20s/early 1930s especially when pranks started to become more violent, and trick or treating became a more organized community event. Enjoy a pre-war/pre-stucky Halloween night.

Bucky Barnes loved Halloween. Going around to houses, that provided treats - gracefully put into their pillow cases. He loved the atmosphere of it too. He loved the pumpkin carving, candied apples, the  _ fallness  _ of everything. 

His friend Steve...did not like Halloween. For the most part, late Fall was no friend to him. Steve always caught something - last year it was a pretty rough case of pneumonia that caused him to be bed bound for almost two weeks. Bucky put his faith into Steve’s healing, and he started to go back to school again. 

This year, Steve wasn’t sick. He was happy. 

Bucky liked when Steve was happy. 

His mom, Sarah Rogers, was increasingly nervous around this time, and it showed every time Bucky went to go visit Steve. Mostly because every time he went to go visit Steve, Bucky would mention trick or treating. 

“Do you want to go, Steve?” Sarah Rogers would ask her son. 

“Only if Bucky is there,” Steve answered.

“Of course I’ll be there,” Bucky responded. 

Sarah Rogers sighed audibly and turned her back towards the two, and started to scrub the dishes again. “Fine, Steve. But if I find  _ one _ scratch on your body,” her Irish accent started to filter through, “you won’t be seein’ the light of day for the next two months. You hear me?”

“Yes, ma.”

“Yes, Missus Rogers,” Bucky said as he gave a big smile to Steve. 

*

The week came and went, and the teachers let the students from the school to be able to enjoy the night. Bucky, after eating a meal with his family, got a big hug from his mom, and left the house, walking swiftly across the street to Steve’s. Bucky knocked on the door, costume still in hand. 

“Oh, James! Just in time. Steve is getting into his costume now. He’s upstairs in his room.”

“Thanks Missus Rogers!” Bucky smiled and walked into the household, and up the stairs. 

Bucky knocked on the door. “Steve?”

The room was dark. 

Cold.

Uninviting. 

“Boo!” A flash of white jumped out in between Bucky and the door frame.

Bucky screamed. 

“ _ Steven Grant Rogers! Do not scare your friend like that!”  _ Bucky heard Sarah Rogers yell from the bottom of the stairs. “ _ We will only have one person in this household have heart problems!”  _

He clutched his chest, as it moved quickly up and down. Steve grabbed the fabric from his head and pulled it off. “Did I scare you that bad?”

Bucky slowed his breathing and started to laugh. “That was so good! You scared me so bad. Is that your costume?”

“I’m a ghost!” 

“It’s a good costume, Steve,” Bucky smiled. 

“Are you a cowboy?”

“I’m Hoot Gibson!” Bucky turned around and grabbed his vest proudly. “Ma made the costume all by herself.

“It’s real swell. So what’s the plan?” 

“So, Jimmy and Lucas are gonna join us, okay?” 

Steve nodded. “Uh, okay. I’m not really friends with them?”

“That’s okay! Any friend of mine are friends of yours.”

“Okay,” Steve said. 

“...and Jimmy’s brother Dennis said he would drive us to the neighborhood with the big houses where his Aunt lives.”

“Whattabout Dennis? I’m sure he doesn’t want to come with us.” 

“He was caught makin’ out with Suzie L. by the cops in their car,” Bucky looked for Sarah Rogers, and once he knew he was in the clear he leaned in and whispered, “they were also smoking those funky cigarettes. I was told by Jimmy that he  _ has _ to watch us. Or that his parents would bring him right back to the police” 

“Oh,” Steve said, but he dragged out the word. Suddenly, he heard a car honking outside of his house. 

“Steve! Your friends are here!” Sara Rogers yelled from the bottom of the steps. Bucky smiled to Steve and Steve smiled to Bucky as they grabbed their pillow cases from the floor and walked down the stairs. Sarah Rogers stood by the entrance. “Now, Steve and Bucky. If I get a report from little Jimmy’s Aunt Mauve that you two have been misbehaving, I swear on my life and God that you won't be able to play with each other until next Halloween. You both hear me?”

“Yes, Ma,” and “Yes, Missus Rogers,” were both said by Bucky and Steve at the same time.

“Now, go and enjoy your evening. No funny stuff!” 

*

After about a half hour, they reached the area on Long Island where their houses were big and right by the border of Queens. The houses were lit up with candles in their windows, and people and the kids were running around the neighborhood pulling their sack of candy over their backs. 

“The good stuff. Jimmy, bring me back some extra bars from Aunt Mauve’s place,” Dennis said as he leaned over to the back seat. “Also, if you fucks try and run to different neighborhoods, my head’s on the line. I’m trying to get onto the varsity football team and this whole situation I’m in doesn’t help. I could even go around during mischief night, and the boys were going to  _ literally _ steal someone’s fence. I’m so mad I missed it.” 

The four boys just stared back at them. 

“Go on. I’ll be at Aunt Mauve’s trying to not bore myself to sleep.”

The four of them got out of the car, and started to walk up to the houses to get the candy.

*

In every neighborhood you visit, there’s always that one house that you look at and automatically say “No.” It was the final house in the neighborhood that made the four boys say outloud: “Nuh uh.”

Jimmy rolled his eyes. “C’mon, maybe we can go back home.”

“Yeah, I’m sure your brother won’t mind us coming back a little early. I’m sure he’s dyin’ at his aunt’s house,” Lucas gripped onto his pillowcase full of candy a little tighter as he looked at the house in front of him. 

Jimmy and Lucas started to leave, and Bucky followed. “Yeah,” Bucky swung his bag over his shoulder. “Let’s go, we covered a lot of ground.”

Steve just stood their, still underneath the sheet, cut out with two holes for eyes, looking at the house. “What’s wrong with the house? It’s just a house.”

Bucky turned around. “No, Steve,” because in all the years that Bucky knew Steven Grant Rogers, he knew, he knew in his  _ bones _ that he would never give up a fight. He would never turn down a challenge. “No, your ma said no to silly stuff like that.”

“Bucky, it’s just a house.”

“We’re gonna go back to Jimmy’s aunt’s house,” Lucas said, as they both started to back up.

“Fine, I’ll get the good candy. I’ll sacrifice myself to do it.”

Jimmy and Lucas said not a word as they continued to step further and further away. Bucky groaned. Loudly. 

“Why do you always have to be  _ that person _ , Steve.”

“It’s good candy!” Steve shrugged his arms, making it almost look like the ghost, he was trying to be, had shoulders. “This is my first Halloween night. My first trick or treating. I’m not gonna let some old house give me the spooks.”

“Y’know what Steve, go at it,” Bucky crossed his arms. “Sacrifice yourself. Let the ol’ witch eat you alive. I’m standin’ right here.” 

Steve didn’t even respond. He just turned around and saw the old lit house beckons him from afar. 

He walked and walked. Feeling as though the darkness that surrounded him was heavy. Bucky was thankful that the sheet he wore was a crisp white, and even in the low light, he could still see Steve walk. 

Steve knocked on the door - the porch light still lit. It took a few seconds, but with a loud creak, the door opened, revealing an older woman with a bowl. 

A bowl full of apples. 

Bucky saw Steve hold out his bag, and the old woman dropped the apple into the sack with a smile. Steve removed his sheet, revealing his face and giving a nice wave to the woman in front. Holding the sack, and placing the sheet over his shoulders, Steve walked back, and walked past Bucky. 

“All that for an apple,” Steve grumbled.

“Worth the sacrifice, Steve?” Bucky said. 

“It’s gonna be worth the time when I tell Lucas and Jimmy that I got a big chocolate bar,” Steve smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Constructive criticism always welcome!


	3. Part III: Nightmares & Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky, after escaping Hydra's control, finds Steve's apartment and tries to get some sleep. 
> 
> His brain says otherwise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter deals with sleep paralysis and cannon typical violence, featuring a soft Steve Rogers.

The Soldier - no. 

He wasn’t the Soldier. He was Bucky Barnes.

Or something of that nature. 

James. 

Sure. 

That worked. 

He came back to the man on the bridge - _ Steve _ . The man that haunted his dreams and jumped out into the world. When he knocked on the wooden door, he wished that the man of the bridge wasn’t behind it. 

But Steve was. Steve was there.

His blond hair sticking up everywhere, bleary-eyed as though he woke up from a nap as soon as his metal arm rapped against the wooden partition.

“Holy shit,” the man, who he knew in his bones was Steve, said.

“You’re so big. You were never this big," his voice rough.

“I grew,” he said, almost laughing. “How did you find...? Actually, you know what, you need to come inside.”

“Why?”

“Is anyone following you?”

“No. I did a perimeter check three times.”

“Of the area?”

“Of your apartment. No one is in there.”

“Oh. Good.” 

“Can I come in?”

“Yeah, Buck. Of course,” Steve stepped to the side, and Bucky walked in. 

He sat on the couch. It was plush, and had a lot of pillows. He kept looking at the parts of the wall that were in the process of being plastered over. 

He did that. 

He thinks he did that.

The Soldier -  _ James. -  _ did that.

“Do you want to eat? I have a lot of food here,” Steve leaned on the wall. His memories flashed to a time long ago where someone that looked like Steve but with the clothes hanging off of his body, leaned against the wall, smiling.

“Did you call your friends?” the voice - his - came out scratchy. “Tell them I’m here?”

“No.”

“So what are you going to do with me?”

“I’m gonna let you sleep, Buck.”

“Why?”

“Because you need it.”

He pursed his lips together, and dropped his head. “Oh.”

“I have a separate room. Extra bed and everything,” Steve turned his head. “Not like what we used to do,” there was a little levity in his voice.

“What’d we used to do?”

Steve’s face fell slightly. “Nothing really.”

A lie. Steve had a tell. 

*

It was late in the year, and by all of the festivities and decorations that people put up, it had to be October. There was one time he was defrosted. He was hunting some guy. Some asshole that even the Soldier didn’t like. Did shitty things, and even if Hydra didn’t like it, it was bad. Really bad. Somehow he ended up in a haunted house. A dude out front complimented his costume.  _ Sweet metal arm, dude. How long did it take you to construct it? _

The Soldier punched him out cold. 

He continued to chase the target through this maze. People jumping out at him, but he shoved them back in their holes - he could feel them, see them,  _ smell them _ , before they even tried to scare him. He heard yelps during each scare, which helped the Soldier follow his every step, before he found himself putting his metal arm around the man’s neck, and crushing his windpipe, so he would be able to kill him without hearing his screams. 

Bucky stared at the ceiling. Or tried to. 

Steve decorated this place. Blackout curtains. No light can come in, no light can go out. His door was closed, and blocked out most of the sound, or at least most of the things in Steve’s apartment didn’t make much of a sound.

He tried to stare at the ceiling because he couldn’t see it. He was enveloped by darkness. It wasn’t the same. It wasn’t the same, because usually his eyes weren’t wide open. Usually he was asleep, and cold and tortured.

So, Bucky closed his eyes, and slowed his breathing.

There were times early on - time when he still knew of his mom soothing him when he was trying to go to bed. He tried to remember that memory. Tried to hold on to it. It just feels like a movie now, as if it’s just two faceless forms reenacting something. 

So, he tried to remember the good stuff. He tried.

He tried. 

His body felt numb - floating in the sea of softness and fluffy pillows. It was too much -  _ way too much,  _ but he wanted to feel like he somehow deserved it. He  _ wanted _ to like the feel as though arms were encircling his torso - protective, even if the arms were attached to a body that was half his size. 

Bucky relaxed some more.

*

He was in a room. An empty disgusting room. 

He knew this room. This place - he wasn’t remembering it. Bucky was in the room. It was as though he was reliving a memory, but him as the same. Bucky was clean, showered, and clothed. 

Bucky looked around , and noticed the red on the floor. He heard German from a far off corridor, coming closer and closer. Sounds of wheels squeaked louder. They were bringing someone in. That someone had a sheet over them. No movement. 

As the scientists walked in with the gurney. Bucky moved out of the way, making sure that even whatever was happening, they could never touching him again. The sheet was removed. The man was…

_ What was his name… _

_ J… _

_ …. _

_ …. _

_ Jack.  _

A face appeared.

Jack Bennenof. 

American. 

He was mangled, and blood was now everywhere. His right arm was ripped off...bitten. It was bitten off. 

Jack was eaten by a bear. 

“ _ Bring him in.” _

“ _ Who?” _

The bear. They tried to make him live. They tried to make him survive, but it just didn’t work. It didn’t happen. They fed the corpses to the bears. 

_ “Bucky…” _

He opened his eyes to complete darkness. 

“ _ Buckkkkyyy…” _

He averted his eyes to the right and tried to get up, to no avail. He felt like his body was pinned against the bed. Like it was strapped to one of the gurneys back when he was trapped. 

_ “Buuuuuuuucccckkkkyyyy….” _

His breathing quickened, trying to move. To scream. 

Something crawled on the ceiling that he couldn’t really see. A flash of...of something went past. He saw it at the edge of his bed. 

It was tall, stark white, but...but it almost looked like it was rotting. Eyes too large for it’s face, with its mouth falling off at one end. The hands reached out, calling his name. His old name.

_ “Buuuu**uccckkkkyyy**…” _

He took a deep breath in and -

*

-and let out another scream. 

“Bucky!” It was Steve’s voice now. “Hey,” he was right next to the bed; not close, not far. “Hey, it’s me. It’s Steve. Do you remember me?” 

“The man from the bridge,” his voice reverberated, thick in his throat. 

The lights went on. 

“Just breathe, I’m here,” Steve said and he nodded. Bucky's breathing slowed.  “Anything I can do for you? Water? Tea? Hot cocoa? They’re instant now,” Steve’s thousand watt smile flashed. That stupid smile. “You probably already know that.” 

“Just,” he rubbed his face with his hands. “Just keep the lights on.”


	4. Part IV: Sharp & Cross-Cryptid Romance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky discovers that he may not be alone in the small town he resides in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More on the G/T rated scale! This is one of my favorite stories. Enjoy!

Full moon. 

It was circled on the calendar with a bright red pen.

Bucky Barnes _knew_ he was forgetting something. It’s kind of important when you’re a werewolf. Look, he was still new at this, comparatively speaking. A year of sprouting hair, being able to smell some other dog’s shit from twenty miles away, ripping animals into shreds - it’s all part of a process of learning,  _ especially _ when it came to remembering when the full moon made an appearance in the sky.

Which was tonight. Twenty minutes before he was about to go on a date. 

“ _ Fuck,” _ he muttered into his empty apartment.

Bucky called his date - he had to do it. He certainly couldn't show up to a nice fancy restaurant start to eat a beautifully cut of steak and then suddenly transform into the large wolf that hid beneath his skin. 

To transform into the thing that he was. 

To be quite honest, Bucky isn’t sure how he looks as a werewolf. Generally he doesn’t try to scope out a mirror while chasing animals in the frost. Bucky put down his phone, ignoring the multitudes of angry texts, and dug through his closet to find his trusty duffle bag kit. 

*

Bucky pulled his rusty red pickup truck to the parking lot to the hiking trails. He loved this area. Quiet, secluded, peaceful, filled with deer. 

Delicious deer. 

Bucky’s mouth started to water. 

“ _ Fuck,” _ he muttered, as he swallowed the excess saliva that formed in his mouth. Bucky looked outside and noticed the darkness approaching. Four hours to go.

*

Turning was physically painful. 

Always painful. 

Bones moving, growing, hair sprouting through the skin, teeth growing as his jaw shifted - it was hell. Pure hell.

It took a half hour to grow, to change. He would never wish this on anyone. Bucky generally remembered bits and pieces of his time as the creature. He was still...himself - still Bucky Barnes, architect - even if he was covered in fur. The first time he tasted deer, Bucky threw up the next day. He couldn’t believe that he was able to ingest the game the night before.

Bucky came into consciousness. The forest - he was roaming. Sniffing out the wild population. Two rabbits, one deer, and a skunk within a ten mile radius. 

Rabbit. 

_ Rabbit. _

He was going to have that at the restaurant anyway. Bucky started walking, finding the quietest route. He saw the ears, a mile away, fall backwards, and run off. He chased it, mouth watering, looking for its next jump. After ten minutes of running, and no way to catch the fucker that wouldn’t stay still  _ for two goddamn seconds,  _ he needed to take a break and grab some water. He went to the lake, and just stared. The water was completely still. The moon up above shined bright, and reflected against the water, making it seem like a giant mirror.

Bucky approached the lake and started to lap. At this point, he didn’t care that he could be drinking piss from a dog or human. He was thirsty. He sat down on his hind legs, and let the water settle and become a mirror once again. 

There was a monster staring back at him. His sharp teeth protruding from his jaw, his snout dripping with water. His shoulders practically sagged. He looked like he could kill - like he could be part of those old films from the fifties. The ones where the monster would find the girl and kidnap her, drool excessively like she was some sort of meat, before the hero would swoop in and kill the monster. 

Before the hero would kill...him. Bucky kept staring, ignoring the urge to take his claws and hit the water. He hated it. Hated what that asshole dog monster... _ thing _ did to him. That he has to go through the same thing alone. 

The water, further away from him splashed. 

A fish.

_ Food. _

Bucky stood up on all fours, and dropped his paw into the water, making more ripples, trying to entice the fish closer. The pattern in the water parted, and what looked like a current moved towards him. Bucky took his sharp claws and continued to draw the fish closer. He didn’t realize how big the lake actually was. Boats were floating by the edges at the dock - people not caring what will happen to them, just letting them rest easy during the night. 

The water splashed again. Much closer, and Bucky became startled. He jumped back. Something parted in the water and Bucky padded forward to get closer to be able to catch the fish. He had to be quick. He had to make sure his sharp teeth pierced through the scaly skin, tasting the salty meat -

“Hello there, puppy,” something -  _ someone? Is...is that face? _ \- said. Bucky braced himself, and was almost shaken to his core. “Don’t be scared,” his voice was soft, but still masculine at the same time. His jaw was square, and skin was slightly tinged blue, and raised his hand out of the water. 

Bucky wasn’t sure if it was a trick of the light, or if he wasn’t seeing things right, but it looked like the hand was webbed slightly. 

Bucky backed up and whined. He was so hungry. 

The man in front of him wasn’t...a man, per say. He was.

The thing splashed its tail. 

Bucky growled. 

“Not a puppy,” the thing said, and swam back from the edge of the lake, eventually flipping back into the water. 

He growled at the water, and saw the moon. He stood on his hind legs, stretched his body, and howled, letting it echo throughout the forest. 

*

Bucky woke up, stark naked, next to a half eaten deer.

*

A few days later, Bucky ended up at the local library, and pulled out a couple of books on the local legends of the very town he lived in. The town he lived in was...it was small. He wasn’t going to deny that fact. About ten years ago, fresh out of college, Bucky was hired to be the new architect at the firm. The owner molded him and gave him experience, and Bucky stayed. He liked it. Were there many gay men around? Not...not really, but he tried not to let it bother him that much. There were apps, and he had a car, so he was able to drive to the closest more populated city to have a date. Things were  _ fine. _

Things were...things were fine. 

The only things that were not fine was the fact that any time after canceling his date, somehow everyone knew and overheard the whispers of townies talking about him and his personal life, and the fact that he was pretty sure that he saw a…

Bucky cleared his throat. He didn’t want to say it. Saying it would make it real. What he saw was all part of an illusion. A trick of the werewolf mind. The man was swimming, and the low light just made it look like he had webbed fingers. Or the man was just born with webbed fingers. Nothing else. 

It just  _ couldn’t _ be a merman. 

Mermaid?

Fish. Creature. 

Person.

“Everything good, Mister Barnes?” an older British voice scared Bucky. Margaret Carter, lead librarian. “Looking up something to inspire you?”

Bucky chuckled. “I’m okay, Ms. Carter -”

“Mister Barnes, you can call me Margaret, we have gone through this many times before.”

“I’m fine, Margaret,” Bucky smiled, and felt the small weight of books in his hands. “Actually,” Bucky paused. “Do you know of any books about any local legends? One of my clients...they uh, want something a little out of the ordinary for their shed. A lot of carving has to be involved. Something about the lake, maybe?”

“Legends like what?”

“Well, Vermont has Champy, the Lochness Monster…”

“Are you asking if our little town has a monster in the lake?”

_ Merman, actually. _ “Uh,” he cleared his throat. “Yeah.”

“Come with me, Mister Barnes.”

*

She led him towards the local newspaper archive. Setting the projector up, she placed the negatives on the screen. Bucky and Margaret started to scroll. She would talk about the latest news like it just happened. She loaded the fourth slide to the projector.

“Ah, that’s what I wanted,” she said as she sat down on her chair. 

“What am I looking for?”

“June 9th, 1944. Top left.”

**MYSTERY ANIMAL SPOTTED BY YOUNG LOCAL GIRL**

A picture of Margaret as a child - referred to as Peggy Carter - was standing holding something in front of her. 

“You saw him,” she stated. 

“Me? Who?” Bucky tried to play dumb. 

“I saw your truck by the hiking trails those nights ago,” Margaret raised her eyebrows. 

“A little night hike doesn’t hurt,” he shrugged. 

Margaret arched her eyebrows. “He usually comes out at night. I saw him too. When I was younger. He was my best friend,” she reminisced. 

Bucky gave up trying to play dumb. “When did you meet him?”

“A couple of months before the photo was taken. Showed a picture to my parents and they reported to the paper. Nothing ever happens in this dumb little town,” she chuckled. 

“He was…”

“Don’t be afraid of him. He’s harmless.”

_ Same couldn’t be said about me. _

*

Bucky parked his pickup truck by the edge of the forest. He took a bag and headed towards the lake. The moon above was thinning away. He sat at the edge where he remembered his furry self sat the last time. 

Bucky sighed. He was big. A literal werewolf. Not sure how much more he could describe other than the monster that he became. Something splashed in the water. 

He was here. 

“C’mere fishy, fishy. C’mere,” Bucky called as he splashed the water with his hand like the time before. 

“Are you kidding me?” someone asked to the side. “Fishy, fishy?”

Bucky looked over and jumped slightly in fright. His shoulders were broad, hair still tinged from the lake water. “Beats calling me a puppy, really.”

The person paused, squinting, and then hummed. “I wonder where I saw those eyes before,” he leaned forward, perching his body more on the ground. Bucky’s breath hitched. His body glistened in the moonlight. “So...nice to meet the real you. Y’know it’s always nice to know I’m not the only one here in this tiny town. I swear it’s only like a thousand people have moved in since I...manifested here.” 

Bucky furrowed his eyebrows. “You just woke up here?” 

“Y'know, I’m not really sure. At least it’s not a pond,” he looked out towards the water. “I can really stretch my fins.” That smile. “What about you? Born or bred?”

“Not a purebred.”

He chuckled. “Not what I’m asking.”

Bucky sighed, not really wanting to talk about it. “You’re a merman, not a therapist.”

“Mer _ maid _ . It’s a gender neutral term. Or it has at least evolved into one,” he shrugged.

“Sorry,” Bucky sighed. “Uh. A year ago or so, I was mauled by something. Someone,” Bucky moved his sleeves up and showed his scars. 

“Gnarly.”

“Gnarly? I thought you’re some mystical mermaid, not someone who repeats slang from the nineties.”

“People don’t use that anymore?”

“Nope.”

“Gotta catch up then,” he said with another smile. 

Bucky stood up and brushed the dirt off his jeans, and looked at his watch. “Look...I gotta go. Work and all tomorrow.”

“Right, human stuff,” he sighed. “Okay,” he pushed himself back into the water. “If you want to talk...or sniff, whatever...y’know whatever werewolves do, you know where to find me. Oh, you can call me Steve, by the way,” he winked -  _ the bastard winked  _ \- and put himself underwater to swim away.

*

Bucky didn’t return for weeks. His red tow truck would keep passing by on his way home. He would try not to look at the woods that led to the lake. The phone in his office would ring and ring - he would answer and talk, but it wasn’t work he was thinking about. 

*

The full moon rose again, and Bucky didn’t have to deal with canceling a date - he hadn’t been on one since he met Steve. 

He changed. 

Agony. 

Bones cracking.

Jaw...lengthening. 

This time he didn’t remember the whole running through the forrest. The wolf took over. Bucky - or at least his consciousness - realized he walked to the lake. He padded over to where the water started, and dipped his paw into the water, breaking the reflection. He huffed and barked lightly like it was a game. 

Something came out of the water, and landed on the ground with a soft thud, flapping lightly.

A fish.

_ Food. _

Courtesy of his friend. 

Bucky devoured the gift, and placed his paws back in the water, and out came a head.

Steve.

He tried to say his name, but it only came out as a whimper. 

“Hey there, big guy,” he said as he stuck his hand out to pet him.

Like he wasn’t dangerous. 

Bucky gave the okay to Steve by practically thrusting his head underneath Steve’s webbed hand, letting him scratch right behind his ear. *

Bucky woke up the next day with a blanket thrown over him still near the lake.

*

He kept going back. He kept wanting to see Steve, whether it was him as a human or as a wolf. It didn’t matter. Bucky saved up enough money, and eventually bought a house at the edge of the lake, just so he could be closer to the person who didn’t make Bucky feel like an absolute monster. 

Or at least - that’s how the legend goes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Constructive criticism always welcome!


	5. Part V: Zombie Apocalypse & Bones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky develops a taste for human flesh, and the Avengers go on a mission to help fix it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heavy on the T rating for this chapter. Enjoy!

**Part V: Zombie Apocalypse & Bones**

Something was different. Steve squinted at Bucky. He was still ( _ still-ish _ ) the same. Still had his hair, still had his metal arm - not like the time Strange tricked him that his Bucky from the war was back - he did it for all good reasons...but it got a little out of control. 

They were banned from that bar, from that incident. 

Steve looked at Bucky and Bucky looked right back. 

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer,” he said with a slight Brooklyn twang that he remembered from all those years ago. Bucky took a spoonful of his oatmeal, and the asshole winked. 

*

No alarms from the tower. A whole day and a half. Usually it was something - either a heist that Peter couldn’t handle (and shouldn’t handle by himself. Steve was getting tired of using his Captain America voice), or some crazed new villain thinking that they could be the one person that could finally destroy the Avengers.

Steve tapped the security system tablet. “I think it’s broken.”

Bucky, moved to the couch, and flipped through the channels. He looked pale. Paler than usual. Like a sheet of paper. “C’mon. It’s a quiet day,” Bucky shifted in his seat and patted the empty spot next to him. “Let’s watch a movie.”

So they did, but Steve kept his guard up. 

Something was off, but Steve couldn’t quite put his finger on it. 

*

They ended up forgoing watching the movie for making out.

Heavily. 

Bucky moaned with pleasure into Steve’s mouth as Steve ran his hand gently up Bucky’s torso. He loved this. This shared moment between the two of them. 

He loved Bucky. 

Always by his side, and even if they weren’t they always drifted towards each other like magnets on the opposite end of the table. Steve wanted this to last forever - not only the make out session they were currently having, but also  _ them _ . He wanted to ma-

“Ow,” Steve pulled away after - “Did you just bite my tongue?”

Bucky furrowed his eyebrows, but licked the bottom of his lip. 

Like he was tasting him.

“You just...this is going to sound weird,” Bucky sighed. “You tasted really good.”

“Well, I had some pineapple juice before as a snack and it was supposed to be kind of a surprise when you -”

The alarm to the tower went off. Both of their shoulders sagged.

“For another time I guess,” Bucky said as he gave Steve a small kiss on the lips. He smiled and shifted under him to get out from underneath him. Steve got a look at his beautiful eyes - and saw something behind them that wasn’t there before. 

*

Natasha and Wanda were sitting close to each other in Tony’s lab. Steve entered the room with Bucky in tow, and leaned on the table. He watched them. The way Nat touched Wanda’s soft hair, the way Wanda leaned into it. There was a soft smile on Nat’s face. Something that Steve hadn’t really seen before. Clint came in, turning his hearing aid on, sipping on some coffee and complaining that he had to be woken up. Sam arrived not three minutes later and sat down on the chair in front of the table that Steve was leaning on. Bruce was already tinkering on something in the far east corner, but Steve only noticed him when meandered over, muttering a simple hello. 

Tony came in through the doors, snacking on some granola out of a bag. “We,” he chewed some more, “have a problem.”

“There are all sorts of problems, any chance you can narrow it down to just one, Tony?” Sam questioned. 

Tony sighed. “An epidemic. Something. Or, I don’t know. Vapors, clouds, mist - call it what you want - escaped from a building.” 

“That doesn’t bode well,” Natasha commented. 

“Vapors broke out of a building?” Wanda asked. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Well,” Tony sighed and tapped some words on his computer, and brought up a video of people running away from the smoking building.”See clouds. But, I have a trusted source, and that trusted source, who says they would like to be nameless told me that it’s actually a nerve agent that has been testing at the Umbrella Corporation. Some bad tests, no one really hasn’t been able to try and fix it. Turns people into zombies.”

“Zombies? Stark,” Steve sighed, “you can’t be serious. Zombies aren’t real - they’re part of movies. Local legends.”

“...and people never thought that you would wake up in the twenty-first century.” 

Steve sighed. Zombies. “Where’s the building?”

“Downtown. Near the East Village.”

Steve noticed Bucky shift. “...the Umbrella Corporation?”

“Fancy make-up company, but they’ve had a lot of problems in the past. Mostly a lot of recalls that have caused people to end up in the hospital.”

Bucky coughed, and coughed, and eventually excused himself from the room. Steve followed. “Bucky?” he asked, as he walked out of the elevator to his floor. Bucky was sitting on the bed, head in hands. 

“I was there,” his voice was barely a whisper.

“What?” Steve sat down next to him, but Bucky immediately got up and walked away. 

“I...I was there...I breathed in the nerve agent. Hydra. Hydra is the one that blew up the building. They somehow got in and -” Bucky was talking a mile a minute. 

“Buck, slow down.” He looked up to Steve. Those eyes that shifted, that changed, still held the universe in them. “Were you following Hydra?”

“No...no. I was just taking a walk. I needed the air. Got a coffee. I...I ran. I didn’t do anything. I just ran.”

“You’re an innocent bystander.”

“A bystander that breathed in the toxin. Everyone in the area did. Not sure how many were affected.”

“That’s for us to figure out. The main thing is that you’re safe.”

“Am I Steve? What...what if I’m dead? What if I start to decompose, or…” Bucky’s voice ran off. 

“There has to be an antidote,” Steve stated, as reached out to stroke Bucky’s face. Cold. So cold.

Bucky stayed up on their floor as Steve walked back into the room. Everyone was still there, but in a more relaxed setting. Like they knew that Steve was going to return. Steve sat down, and Natasha just gave him a look. He pursed his lips and returned his attention to Tony.

“Something you want to share with the class?” Tony put his hands in his pockets. 

“Bucky, he...he was downtown. I think he’s infected,” Steve bit on his lip. 

“Jesus Christ,” Tony muttered and dragged a hand down his face.

“Is he okay?” Wanda inquired. 

“He’s..okay. He’s cold. Dead behind the eyes, but it’s still him. I think the knock-off serum has...changed the toxin and how it affects him. Bruce?” 

“Yeah?” Bruce poked his head out from the computers. 

“I need you to do a scan on him to make sure all my suspicions are correct,” Steve said, and Bruce nodded. “What are we gonna do about the Umbrella Corp?”

“Well,” Tony shrugged, “every nerve agent has an antidote right?” Tony popped another blueberry in his mouth. 

*

They suited up. The new and specialized suits were already in the back of Tony’s lab - just ready to be introduced. Luck, honestly. Able to breathe without breathing in the outside air. Without being affected by the toxin. 

Steve, Bucky, Natasha, Wanda, and Sam all stood outside the building. Plants already grew through the cracks. They weren’t...they weren’t normal. Mutated. Not physically possible. Steve crouched down and took a hold of the grey plant in his hands. It moved, curled around his hands. 

“This...this isn’t right,” Steve sighed. “What were they pumping into those serums?”

“ _ Who knows. Best entry point is around the side. Escalators aren’t working but they’re one of the few structures that isn’t destroyed,” _ Tony said over the comms.

“Split up? Me, Wanda, and Sam, you and Bucky?” Natasha asked.

Steve stood up. “No, we stick together. We’re not sure what’s down there.” Steve started walking towards the side entrance. “Ready to fight?” 

*

The building was quiet. 

Too quiet. 

Bucky held his gun close, but at the ready. Just in case something happened. 

“So,” Sam started. “You wanna eat flesh?”

“What?”

“You know,” Sam paused and then made a garbled growl with his hands up. “Zombie-fyed and all.”

Bucky rolled his eyes and moved on. “No. Well,” he sighed. “I don’t know. When I was...with Steve earlier I bit his tongue. He just tasted so good, and I wanted to eat his arm to the  _ bone _ , and it wasn’t even the pineapple juice.”

“Damn, pineapple juice?”

“That’s what you choose to focus on?” Bucky questioned. A noise from an empty hallway sounded. Bucky pointed his gun towards the dark hallway, and Steve readied his shield, Natasha pulled out her batons and Wanda stood in front to shield her, and conjured her magic. Steve, like the no-fear asshole himself, started walking towards the sound, everyone else in tow, and Bucky not far behind Steve, who seemed to turn into a separate room. 

“Do you like...sense anything?” Steve asked. 

“I’m dead, not Parker.”

Bucky couldn’t see it, but he could just feel Steve rolling his eyes. Quickly, something ran across the hallway. Water was coming from somewhere, and as they descended further, more and more water covered the floor. The thing that crossed was large, mangled, and  _ looked hungry. _ Bucky gripped his gun tighter and let the barrel follow the monster’s path.

“What the  _ fuck was that _ ,” Sam stressed as he almost fell into the water. 

Bucky let the breath that he seemed to be holding in, for the hallway seem to quiet down. 

Water splashed, and both of them backed away.

Slowly. 

They kept walking backward until They hit something. 

There shouldn’t have been something in the back of them. Slowly, Bucky and Sam walked forward, until they heard the monster’s growl, and saliva falling onto their heads. 

*

Steve woke up to Bucky thrashing in bed. Twisting and turning, Bucky pulled the covers off the bed. “Buck,” Steve’s voice cracked from lack of use. He was still turning, and turning, until Steve spoke up more. “Bucky, hey, babe, wake up.” 

His eyes started to flutter, and he started to relax, and stop twisting and turning. “Steve?”

“Yeah, hey,” Steve saw Bucky’s eyes flutter open. Saw his recognition of Steve, and felt his heart grow three times larger. “You’re real. This is real.”

Bucky was quiet. 

“Your favorite color is lavender and you told me that as a sworn secret both when we were in our early years of high school and again, five years ago when we finally moved into this apartment.”

He ran a hand over his face. “This is real.”

“Do you want some water?” Steve trailed his fingers over Bucky’s torso, giving him space but also initiating physical contact. 

“Uh, yeah. Yes, please, thank you,” Bucky rolled back onto his back, and placed some pressure over his eyes. Steve left for two minutes, but it was two minutes too long for Bucky. 

“Scooch,” was the only thing Bucky said, and he complied, moving over slightly, and giving enough room to sit. “So,” Steve sighed, “which dream was it?”

“None of the regular ones, but there were five.”

“Five?” The question sounded more like a shocking statement. 

“Yeah, weird ones too. Ones where we were in college. I had a nightmare next about this... _ thing _ in your old apartment. Then, you were a merman-”

“A merman?”

“Yeah, I was a were-wolf. It was so weird. I had a memory played out, when we were young. When you went as a ghost?”

Steve laughed at the memory. “You went as a cowboy, right?” Steve was now fully laughing. 

“Shuddup,” a smile washed over Bucky’s face, and Steve could’ve sworn the room was brighter too. 

“Last one was just straight up crazy. Probably shouldn’t have watched  _ Resident Evil _ last night.”

“Probably not,” Steve leaned in, and cupped Bucky’s face with his hand, before swiping some fuzz off of Bucky’s face with his thumb, and learning in further to kiss. It was soft and warm, and just as magnificent as the first time. “How are you doing now?”

“Coming down, but on the upswing. Thank you.”

Steve smiled. “I’m going to make breakfast. Your favorite -”

“Blueberry pancakes. With the organic blueberries, not that fake crap -”

“It was one time!” Steve replied but in jest. “Do you want me to bring it up to you?”

“No,” Bucky smiled at Steve. How could he be so lucky? “But I’m gonna stay here until the food is done.”

“I’ll come up to let you know when the food is ready - it’s not gonna be long, though, we have a full day.”

“What’s going on again?”

Steve leaned on the doorframe, after getting up from the bed. “Halloween! Party’s tonight, and I bet Nat she couldn’t convince Sam to dress up as Uncle Sam.”

Bucky laughed out loud. “He’s going to be the only one in costume.”

“It’s going to be hysterical,” Steve said, as he smiled at Bucky, looking at his husband in the warm morning light. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the end of the spooktober fic challenge for this year! I did enjoy writing all of these, and definitely challenged me as a writer. Constructive criticism always welcome.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This will be uploaded weekly throughout the month of October. Constructive crit always welcome!


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